Cyclone-Prone Malawi Plans Energy Storage to Bolster Grid
- Most of the African nation’s electricity comes from hydropower
- Malawi faced one of the worst tropical cyclones last year
Rescuers operations following a landslide due to heavy rains from Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, southern Malawi, on March 16, 2023.
Photographer: Amos Gumulira/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Malawi is building its first battery-energy system, a technology that will help protect its grid from cyclones that have battered the southern African nation in recent years.
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, a fund that seeks to accelerate the shift to clean energy, is providing up to $20 million for the 20-megawatt project, according to a statement Monday. The Malawian government and the state utility ESCOM are also contributing, with the goal of completing the system sometime next year.